Improvement in wagon-jack



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NICHOLAS W. Hass AND JACOB H. FRY, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA. i Letters Patent No. 73,329, dated January i4, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT lIN WAGON-JACK.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it`known thatwe, NICHOLAS W. HESS and JACOB FRY, of Fort Wayne, in tlieicoun'ty of Allen, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Jacks; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompany-4 ing drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure l is a side elevation, having one side removed. The nature of 'our' invention consists in an improved method of constructing wagon-jacks., To enable others skilled in the arts to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation. y

A represents a curved lever, which is secured, by means of a fulcrum-pin, to the side pieces. v The upper or outer end of this lever is so curved upward that it sets close to the body of the jack, as will be seen. The short arm of this lever extends inward horizontally, to the point or centre to which the weight is subjected. The lower end of this lever is made of cast iron, which is provided with a' socket, a, into which a wooden handle is inserted. B represents a crescent-shaped link or step, the lower surface of which is provided with a projection, which serves as a hingetc secure it to the lever, as seen at b, said lever being so recessed to receive it, as seen in dotted lines. Link or step B supports upon its upper surface a lifter, C, the lower end of'which is soformed as to ft into the concave upper surface of the step, said concave surface being a segment of a circle. Saidlifter C is provided with two lugs', D, which take into and. slide in grooves formed in the side pieces, as p seen'in dotted lines c. Said lugs and grooves act as guides to steady and keep the lower end of the lifter in position, and allow it to rise and fall perpendicularlyto av limited distance. Guides, f, are also placed at\or n ear the tcp of the side pieces, which serve to tie their tops together, as well as guide the movements of the lifter. The upper end of said lifter may be constructed as seenin the drawings, having a graduated series of elevated steps, one rising successively above the other, so as to accommodate dilcr'ent heights of axle-trees; or it may be coristructed in any other desirable manner.

The operation of our wagon-jack is as follows: The lifter is placed under the aille, so that th'ejack stands vertical, and directly under the weight tofbe elevated. The lever is then forced backward and downward, until the end thereof strikes a line horizontal with the base of the jack. This movement elevates the inner or short arm of the lever, and with it the crescent-shaped step and lifter. In so doing, the step is caused to slide or revolve 'on the surface of the lower end of the said lifter, as will be readily understood. By this movement a rapidly-increasing power is obtained, a's, while the lever is elevatingthe. lifter, it is constantly shortening its short arm, which, vwhen raised to its extremity, is almost perpendicular over the fulcrum. When the outer end of the short arm is so elevated that the fulcrum ol, pivot of hinge b, and centre of crescent B, as seen atffeome in a straight line with .each other, thenthe lifter has attained its .greatest height, and the weight will be held at that point by the lever, shouldthe outer end or long arm be relieved.A But in order to give greater security, we carry the pivot Zi past this centre a. short distance, until the concave end of the lever, as see-n at 9, strikes the convex surface of the crescent atJL, which takes 'the strain oi` from the pin, and securely supports it in L its place. It will be-observed,.on inspection, that in addition to the increasing ratio of power gained by the i shortening of the arm ofthe lever, as before described, we' also combine a modification of the knee-joint lever, A which commences to act at the point'where the, angle formed by lines y y and a: z cross each other, form a right angle, and continues to act with accelerated force, unt-i1 said lines run parallel, as seen in red lines, when the lifter is up, thus, in a word, bringing Ato bear on `the weight a force that is unequalled in pow'er, except by hydrostatic pressure. e i

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Theplever A, the concave-convex or cresc'ent-shaped step or link B, in combination with the convex surface of the stud or lifter C, the same being constructed in the, manner and for the purpose described.

NICHOLAS W. Huss, [ne] JACOB H. FRY. [In 8.] Witnesses: I

s H. F. WILLsoN, Gao. EsMoNn. 

